There could be tough times ahead for Wigan ward, Ince, according to re-elected Labour councillor James Moodie, who stormed to a fourth consecutive victory.
Cllr Moodie clinched the seat with 1397 votes, beating UKIP’s Ross Wright by 546.
The Labour councillor, originally from Clydebank in Scotland before moving to Wigan in the early 1980’s, believes the financial climate means it is getting more difficult for the area he presides over.
“There is a big issue in local authority,” he said.
“People are at their most vulnerable with the changes from the recent benefit regime.
“Ince is a poor ward and we have a big task on our hands but we do have £110million which has been leaked off Wigan’s budget.
“There have been cutbacks in the local authority so we have to be imaginative and deal with the task on hand.”
Ince-In-Makerfield has a population of just 10,000 and its station is a part of the busy Wigan to Manchester train route.
It is one of a number of areas in Makerfield including Bryn, Hindley and Winstanley.
For the whole area, Labour maintained a majority hold on Wigan with the Lib Dems and UKIP losing their solitary seats earlier this morning.
Labour ended with 23 of the 25 seats that were up for election including council leader Lord Peter Smith’s seat in West Leigh, which he retained comfortably with a majority of 1,347.
Since the authority was formed 40 years ago, Labour have held control of the town hall and this morning’s results indicate that things are not changing as more than 50% of the vote went to Labour.
Image courtesy of repton1x, with thanks
